Page 7 of Come Out & Prey

Fuck. Now I’m going to have to replace that bloody thing this week.

The phone is still ringing in my pocket as I charge through the double doors at the front of the library and head to the courtyard. My wings lift and spread, my clawed feet push off the ground, and I take to the air in my half-shifted form, heading for the clock tower. Fitz will either be there dicking around onthe Slaystation with Chess, or he’ll go there when he finishes whatever the hell it is he actually does between classes besides defiling my library.

Either way, that asshole is paying to replace this outfitandmy bunny. Otherwise, I’m throwing his annoying ass off the Tower to see if pigs really do fly.

A Million Dreams

Exiting the bathroom,I place my hands on my cheeks, feeling the skin burning under my touch. The flush won’t go away, no matter how many times I dabbed my neck or face to cool down. I’m not any different from any other teen—I have my moments and this was clearly one of them. Sitting under that tree and watching the gorgeous men in that room might sound a little creepy, but I can’t explain why I couldn’t take my eyes off of them other than an excess of ‘horny-mones.’

Kill me now.

I’m so flustered that I used Gold’s stupid nickname for a bodily function. I swear, if you’re not careful, being friends with them is like slowly being assimilated with the Kardashian sect of the Borg. Their culture seeps into your vocabulary, tastes, and mind before you even realize it’s there.

The whole ‘sexual overdrive’ thing is definitely my fault. I’ve steadfastly refused to use losing my virginity to force my animal to emerge, and because of that, it’s made it hard for me to decide when it’s actually right for Todd and me to take that step. He’sbeen patient, but that won’t last for much longer. His birthday is on prom night, and once we’re both eighteen, it’ll be more difficult to resist the siren call of physical intimacy.

Plus, he’s a male teenage shifter. Their urge to claim a mate gets stronger once they turn eighteen as a biological imperative, and though I believe we are mates, the families won’t stand for us holding out much longer.

I know for damn sure that Bruno will get involved if we don’t.

Taking another deep breath, I try to steady myself. The Heathers and the boys headed for the gym to sign up for their fitness elective and mingle with the jocks. I’m less thrilled about joining them because I have zero intention of scouting college guys, nor do I think they’ll offer dance here, so I’m going to worry about that later. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll have something less... violent than sports next semester. Since I’m on my own and trying to get my heart rate to slow down, maybe I’ll go towards the arts and humanities building.

If I’m lucky, an English teacher might be available to discuss my options.

My fingers rifle through the blood red and black folder they gave us at the start of the tour, and I sigh in relief when I pull out the map of the grounds. It’s printed like an old style Gothic map and it makes me giggle. Of course, Apex wouldn’t have a younger graphic designer do a fancy enhanced map with digital rendering and fancy photos—no, this school is all about tradition and the old ways.

That’s why we have a map that looks like it’s straight out of the Shire, and it’s hysterical.

I mean, it’s not like they couldn’t afford to go on Fanger and hire someone.

With a shake of my head, I note that the library is close to the building I’m looking for. I slip the folder into my purse and slide my Bottega Veneta cat-eyed sunglasses on. The doors of the giant atrium at the front of the library automatically open and I groan as a burst of hot air washes over me. Shifter Secondary would pick the hottest day of the month to tour a school that separates their buildings with football field sized spaces. I venture forth, map clutched in hand, as I head south towards the ornate building at the other end of the lake.

Luckily, no one can see me watching the water shifters have a class through my tinted frames. I’m truly hoping that my animal doesn’t emerge as part of that class. It’s possible, given the Drew lineage from Bruno—he’s a croc and his father was a shark, but I have no interest in having to learn gills or whatever the hell else the amphibians, reptiles, and other water preds have to learn at first. There’s a school of orcas leaping over the horizon, and I wonder how Apex divides the fresh and saltwater shifters.

Wrinkling my nose at the map, I notice that there’s a second, smaller body of water near the dorms. That must be where the freshwater shifters wet their flippers. It occurs to me that despite Todd’s family lineage of land preds, there could be water-based species that are recessive. He could turn out as something gross and slimy—that’s a horrifying thought. I can definitely get behind a bear or a tiger, but I draw the line at breeding with a fucking fish.

Hera, help me... I just can’t fathom it.

I shake my head to ward off the chills associated with imagining Todd or me emerging as non-land dwellers.

A glance at the map distracts me again when I notice that there’s a clearing specifically marked as a Khan Training Area. That’s where I’ll hope we end up on this tour. I don’t know what kind of teacher they have here, but the one at Shifter Secondary was pretty laid back. If someone emerged early but couldn’t transfer to Apex, the bear shifter in charge of P.E. would switch their fitness elective to beginning shifter training with our resident counselor, Arwen. She’s the luna of the Zion pack and loves working with new shifters.

Something tells me we won’t get a professor with a gentle touch here, though.

I approach the arts and humanities building, tilting my head to gaze up at it. It’s in a completely different architecture style than the rest of the academy. It almost looks as though someone with money upgraded the facilities, but insisted that the school build ‘their vision’ instead of something that complimented the rest of the campus. Honestly, that’s not a stretch, knowing the whims of the elite predators who make up the council and heads of state.

Opening the doors to the building, I chuckle to myself when I see the name of the benefactors. That explains everything about how this place looks without having to ask a single question. The Shirdal Convocation Arts and Humanities Complex is a cluster of round buildings surrounding a central tower that I guarantee the raptor preds use for their flight training. They might use the clock tower as well, but I didn’t see anyone near it as I passed, so it may not be a student zone.

My father loathes the Shirdals, and I’ve never been allowed to associate with the lower avian preds. Every time he has to attend a council meeting that involves the Shirdal heir, he spends days growling at Matilda—although she’s a hawk and not an eagle. Afterward, he rants about the Shirdals refusing to breed with theLeonidas pride after a rift between the families. That’s why we don’t have griffins in the States currently, and he feels they’ve lowered our standing internationally.

I don’t have the patience or the interest to decipher his drunken predator breeding theories most of the time, so I don’t know exactly what the big deal is.

Who cares if we don’t have griffins? I sure as hell don’t.

The cool air of the quiet foyer of the arts building is a welcome change from the oppressive heat outside, and I look around. There’s a gigantic statue of an eagle tearing apart a prey animal in bronze in the center of the room. Twin sets of steps lead to the next floor, and behind the statue, there’s an enormous set of cherry wood doors. I walk around the ugly sculpture, curious to see what the curved doors lead to.

Set into the marble above the doors is a sign I never expected to see at Apex Academy: Aziz Shirdal Memorial Theater. Blinking, I place my fingertips on the door hesitantly. I’ve always wanted to perform in a play or, even better, a musical. My parents refused to let me try out for anything in all my years of schooling, so it limited my singing to my hairbrush in the bathroom. I press my lips together, deciding that I’m not quite brave enough to see what’s in there just yet.

I’ll come back once I find the head of the English department. After all, it’s not like it’s going anywhere, right?

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